Portrait of Australian rapper Tkay Maidza wins $25k Kennedy Prize

A portrait of Australian singer-songwriter and rapper Tkay Maidza has won the 2018 Kennedy Prize.

The national visual art competition attracted more than double the number of entries received last year and awards $25,000 to the winner.

South Australian expat Angus Hamra, who recently moved to Melbourne, created the winning artwork – entitled Tkay Maidza – using aerosol, enamel and brass on canvas.

Maidza was born in Zimbabwe before moving to Australia in 2001, when she was five years old. Her single Switch Lanes from her debut EP Switch Tape was voted into the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2014 and she has performed at major music festivals including Splendour in the Grass.

Describing his work, Hamra said:

"Ideas of youth can be seen as a source and subject of beauty. My subject is singer-songwriter and rapper Tkay Maidza. Her insightful music and striking appearance utilises the energy of what it is to be young. Originally from Adelaide, she is a great ambassador for people my age and a compelling subject.”

Hamra was revealed as the winner of the 2018 Kennedy Prize during last night’s 2018 Kennedy Prize Exhibition Launch event.

More than 50 finalists, including Hamra’s winning artwork, are on display at the Kennedy Prize Exhibition in the Royal South Australian Society of the Arts at the State Library until Sunday, September 23.

Voting for a People’s Choice Award will be conducted during the exhibition, while the Foundation’s Choice will showcase an exciting array of emerging and established Australian artistic talent. Both are open to the general public and entry is free.

For more information and to view the list of finalists, please visit www.kennedyprize.com.au.

A cartoon about the life and times of a Sri Lankan panda bear, sculptures of weird little characters, hand-blown glass inspired by nature, a virtual reality installation, photography dealing with audience psychology and a variety of paintings are some of the works from emerging professional artists that will be featured at the Hall & Wilcox Art Exhibition.